[OLPC_Boston] One For All & Cambridge Friends School Update

[MacKenzie Sigalos]

Hello Boston!

These past several weeks have been very busy at the Cambridge Friends
School! On Wednesday, March 18th, we first launched the pilot,
bringing 30 XO laptops into the classroom. All 28 sixth grade students
were together during their "Independent Learning Block" (ILB), so they
were able to work together to figure out the basics of how to use the
laptop. Equipped with two handouts outlining some of the more
simplistic activities included on the XO laptop, including Write,
Browse, and Memorize, students delved into the world of the XO!

Each week, we have continued to join the Cambridge Friends School
students both during their ILB block and during class time hours.
Students have used the Memorize Activity to develop Spanish vocabulary
games. By recording themselves saying a word in Spanish--calcetines,
for example--they were then able to import these sound files into
their personally
designed matching game, pairing this media with a photo of socks. They
then used the mesh network to share their games with one another, in
preparation for their unit exam in Spanish class.

Another activity that is coming up next week is a Chinese history
lesson about the Qin Dynasty. Students will use WikiBrowse and the
Mapping activities in order to create their own maps of Ancient China.

In their biology class, students will work in groups to plan how to
open their own physical therapy clinic. They will create
advertisements using the Drawing activity and they will use Record to
make radio commercials. They will also develop a list of injuries that
their clinic treats, along with a description of the treatment and the
recovery time by researching online and on WikiBrowse.

Thus far the pilot has been incredibly well received, both by students
and by teachers. Students are encouraged to use the XO during their study
hall periods, breaks from class assignments, and even during their
recess hours. It has been wonderful to witness the seamless
integration of the XO into the every day lives of our 6th grade
students.

During the next few weeks we would love to involve as many people as
are interested in the pilot, so please let us know if you'd like to
sit-in on any XO lesson days.

Have a great weekend!

Katelyn and Mack